12 Best Foods for Your Abs...

Okay, so you know how I'm always talking about The Abs Diet book (Get the book on Amazon.com) !  I'ts my nutrition bible, but seriously, who wants to carry around a book all the time! Well here is a little printable handout with all 12 Abs Diet Power foods (taken from www.WomensHealthMag.com), including a short description of their "superpowers" and how to best put them to use for your body, which goes a little something like this...

1. Incorporate 2 - 3 of these foods into each of your major meals, and at least 1 into each snack. (Remember you should be eating 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day to keep your metabolism working hard!)
2. Diversify your food at every meal to include a combination of LEAN protein, carbohydrates (from whole grains and fruit/veggies NOT SUGAR), and HEALTHY fat.
3. And probably the most important guideline...MAKE SURE YOU EAT PROTEIN WITH EVERY MEAL!  If you are working out and especially if you are lifting weights, protein is CRITICAL for muscle building and repair.  Most experts recommend a gram for every pound.  That means at 147 lbs I should be eating about 147 grams of protein a day!  (This doesn't mean go out and eat a whole pack of bacon! It's all about finding lean and healthy sources of protein like white meat turkey and chicken, peanut butter, eggs, non-fat milk, low fat cheeses, greek yogurt... just to name a few!)

Now Chow Down!

The Ab Exercise of the Day! 

(downloaded from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/)

Day 2 -- Skinny Fat: The Gift and The Curse

Originally I was going to name the blog "Skinny Fat: The Gift and the Curse" because that is exactly what it is. The Gift -- well, the fact of the matter is I just don't look fat.  I can put on a bikini, I can wear a skin tight spandex dress and not think twice about it, I can wear short shorts, I don't have cellulite, my stomach is not hard, but it is relatively flat, but you guessed it... this is also...The Curse!  It's so easy to get complacent when you don't "look fat" even if you are 20 pounds overweight.  So what if my jeans went from a 4 to a 6, right?  A 6 is still relatively small.  But that is a TRAP!!!  Slowly but surely those size 6 jeans start digging into my waist, and, oh no.. could it be...the makings of a mini-muffin top! *loud shriek* nooooooooooooooo!  Okay, a little dramatic, but you all get my drift!

Day 2 is always about the time the soreness kicks in.  This morning it wasn't so bad, but by the afternoon, I could barely get up out of my chair to walk to the water cooler! ha!  I guess that means I'm doing something right!  I am a firm believer in "no pain, no gain" although in this case it should be "no pain, no loss" (I know, I'm corny!)

Day 2

Yesterday, according to my SparkPeople.com daily nutrition report, I did not consume enough calories.  I only ate 1101 calories total.  Snacks, snacks, and more healthy snacks was the recommendation, so that is exactly what I did.  Today I did a little better, but actually went over my 1500 cal goal by almost 200 calories, eating a total of 1691 calories.

Breakfast (386 cal): 1 cup non-fat milk, 1 egg, 1 spinach patty (I made a batch of 6 so I have to eat them)

Snack #1 (207cal): handful of almonds, 1 medium tangerine

Lunch (236cal): White Bean and Tuna Salad (2 cup baby romaine, 1 cup spinach, tuna in olive oil, cannellini beans, artichokes, green onions)

Snack #2 (340 cal):  1 slice provolone cheese, 1 slice turkey lunch meat, 1/2 cup of applesauce

Dinner (236 cal): 1 spinach patty, sauteed asparagus

At the gym...Did I mention that strength training routine is directly out of the Abs Diet book?  I am the most non-athletic person ever!  Seriously, I've never played a sport a day in my life... I wasn't even a cheerleader, but this book was my very own personal trainer, and it didn't cost me 100 bucks a session!  If you're intimidated by weight lifting, check it out. There are pictures for every exercise, and there are "at home" alternatives for every exercise...you know what that means... NO EXCUSES!

7 minutes on the rowing machine to warm up

• 30 sit ups (1 set of 20, and one set of 10...couldn't get through the last 10...YET!)
• Knee Raises 2/12
• I completely forgot my obliques today...smh!
• Squats 2/12
• Bench Press 2/12 (30 lbs)
• Lat Pull Down 2/12
• Military Press 2/10
• Upright Row 2/12
• Tricep...ummmm I don't know the name of the excercise 2/12
• Leg Extension 2/12
• Bicep Curl (1 set of 10, 1 set of 6, and 1 set of 4... don't judge me)
• Leg Curl 2/12

Day 1

Stats

Weight: 155 lbs

Height: 5'4"

BMI: 26.6 What does this mean? (CDC)

Body Fat Percentage: ??? (I don't know yet)

Jean/Trouser Size: 28/9 or 6
Shirt/Blouse Size: Small/Med

Measurements

Bust: 37"

Waist: 31"

Hips: 41"

Skinny Fat (noun, adj) Urban Dictionary Definition

Overweight, but not fat or flabby.  Appearing to be in good shape, but not fit.  Nice figure, but lacking muscle definition.  

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to stop making excuses, and GET BACK IN THE GYM!!!  It's been about a year since my last workout, and about 2 years since I was really serious about it.  In that time, my weight has yo-yo'd up and down, but all in all i have gained about 20 pounds!  That's right, 20 POUNDS!!  Three years ago at 25, fresh out of college, I was in the best shape ever.  135 lbs , 21% body fat!  I was working out 6 days a week, and eating a lean mean, high protein, fat burning diet!  Not to toot my own horn, but I looked GREAT! but most of all I felt GREAT!!!  You won't find a man out there that doesn't agree that a confident woman is a sexy woman!  So this journey is about more that finding that ideal jean size! (mine is a size 26, by the way!)  It's about finding that inner confidence, that has not been completely lost, but has been shrouded by a few excess pounds!

So why did I decide to blog about this journey (shameful pics and all)?  Well, you all are my accountability partners!  I've told the world wide web that I'm gonna do it, so there's no turning back now!

How am I gonnna do it you ask?  With a plan, and a couple not-so-secret weapons...

1. Abs Diet for Women (The best damn "diet" book ever! But seriously, its the most complete & well-balanced fitness & nutrition plan I've ever read, and I've read them all!) http://absdiet.com
2. SparkPeople.com (a FREE!! online nutrition and fitness tracker)

My Plan

Eat 1200 - 1500 calories/day

and workout 7 days a week...

• Strength Training -- Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun
• Cardio -- Tues, Thurs
• Interval Training -- Sat

So here we go...

Day 1

Breakfast (478 cal): 2 eggs, 1/2 tbsp cheese, 1/2 avocado

Snack (164 cal): handful of almonds

Lunch (287 cal): 1 cup baby romaine, spinach pattie (see recipe)

Dinner: baked tilapia filet, sauteed asparagus

At the gym...

• 10 min treadmill warm-up
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  Crunch - 2/25
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  Knee raise - 2/12
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  Obliques - 15/side
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  Back extension  2/12
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  Bridge
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  Squat 2/12
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  Bench press 2/12
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  Lat pull down 2/12
• 
  
  
  
  
  Military press 2/12
• 
  
  
  
  
  Upright row 2/12
• 
  
  
  
  
  Tricep pushdown 2/12
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  Leg extension 2/12
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  Bicep curl 2/12
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  Leg curl 2/12